In a recent appearance at NBA Summer League, Suns owner Mat Ishbia doubled down on his commitment to Kein Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. Speaking to reporters during an ESPN broadcast, he revealed that he’s nowhere near ready to give up on this current core.
“We love Kevin Durant, we love Devin Booker [and Bradley Beal]… we didn’t put our team together for a one-year try. We put our team together because we love those three guys and we think we have some of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA. At the end of the day, you got to put the ball in the hoop and now we gotta build a team around them. The first year, didn’t get to where we wanted to be. Second year, we’re going to see and we’re gonna go out there and compete. I love those guys, I love the pieces: Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale. Bol Bol’sback. We got a lot of great pieces but you gotta win and at the end of the day if you don’t win in the playoffs, people are gonna talk about you and it’s an honor that they talk about us because of high expectations. We gotta get there and we’re gonna try this year again.”
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— Diamond Dog (@DiamondDogzzz) July 18, 2024
Mat Ishbia only stepped in as owner a few years back, after buying the team from disgraced former owner Robert Sarver. To say he’s been busy in the role might be an understatement.
Out of the gate, he immediately made moves to give his team an edge. He traded the farm for Kevin Durant and then traded for Bradley Beal a few months later to form the NBA’s last “big three.”
Together, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal were expected to lead the Suns to glory and become a borderline dynasty in the West. With the NBA’s highest payroll next season, $400+ million, winning is their only goal right now and Ishbia thought that his squad had enough to challenge the best of the best.
But after an early playoff exit for the second straight year, there were doubts that the Suns could survive in the West as presently constructed. Fans and analysts across the league urged them to reconsider their approach and opt to increase their depth instead of relying solely on their star power.
With the peak offseason already come and gone, the Suns are likely to return with mostly the same roster next season, including controversial role-players like Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, and Bol Bol, who played just 43 games last season.
For now, it seems the Suns are ignoring the calls to split up their big three. After sacrificing so much to bring them together, it makes sense that Ishbia would give it more time before breaking it apart.
After all, the Suns could still have a breakthrough in the West, especially with championship coach Mike Budenholzer. With star power and depth at every position, only a fool would count out the Suns next season and you can bet that they’ll be one of the big players in the West for at least a few more years to come.
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